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The advancement of technology has brought society to the point in which a large percentage of the information or content consumed is in some form of a video. This phenomenon is partly due to the effortless accessibility of videos, as well as the way in which well-made videos can hold the attention of the viewer for much longer than the person initially anticipated. The smart phone continues to draw everyone in.
As with anything, people in the business world have found unique ways to utilize videos to their advantage — marketing through video is one of the key advantages. As author and speaker James Wedmore once said, “Stop thinking of ‘video marketing’ as this separate entity that is optional for your business. Video is an effective form of communication that needs to be integrated into each and every aspect of your existing marketing efforts.”
With video marketing being incredibly vast, it can be hard to know what area to focus on. For that reason, we connected with eight different business experts to understand their foolproof video marketing strategies to boost sales.
Clear Objectives
Zach Letter is the CEO of Wonder Works Studio, a brand specializing in the creation of video games. He believes deciding on what the video is supposed to do should be a key focus.
“When it comes to video marketing, the whole idea can sound very generic and broad. With videos being a creatively driven outlet, there are endless scenarios that can be brought to life. This is something that you should consider when preparing to invest time or money into a video project. Define clear objectives for what you want your video to accomplish. Is it strictly an ad? Or, is it more of a demonstration of the intricacies of your product? By setting objectives to be sought after you will keep the project on track resulting in a higher quality video.”
Demonstrate credibility
Gaming Society is a platform aimed at allowing everyone to engage with data and media related to sports betting. Their CEO, Jaymee Messler, suggests showing off elements of the company that would cause the viewer to be more trusting of the brand.
“The average customer is usually aware of when they’re viewing a video that’s attempting to pitch a product without trying to seem like it is. They’ve seen enough ads to spot the sales tactic a mile away. However, the bond of human relationships can be employed to gain credibility with potential customers. Find people who’ve had a positive experience with your product or company and ask them to talk about this experience in front of a camera. Potential customers are far more likely to believe in your company if they hear it from a real person rather than flashy graphics.”
Where is it going?
The internet does not seem to have an end to it no matter where you go. Every thought that has ever been had is present somewhere online. Rowan For Dogs is a business providing products for the health of a dog’s coat. Their CEO, Michelle Arnau, considers it important to be tactful about selecting the place where a video will be seen.
“Some videos are built for specific platforms and it’s necessary to both recognize and participate in this trend so as to be successful. For example, it wouldn’t make much sense to upload your youtube ad video to your company website because much better content than a 15 second ad is possible in that space. Before you begin filming and editing, specifically pick where your video will go within your online presence.”
Write a script
Leo Livshetz is the founder and CEO of Unhide, a brand offering luxury blankets. He advises having a written plan for what will be filmed or created.
“The quickest way to simultaneously waste your time while losing your audience is to try and make unscripted videos. First of all, the lack of planning will result in an excessive amount of time spent editing as all your shots will likely lack cohesion. Secondly, your audience will probably view your video blind meaning they have no knowledge about what the subject matter of the video will be. When this is the case, transparency is needed when trying to connect with an audience. While you may have a great understanding of what you’re presenting, the audience may not and a script will aid this.”
Analytics
Becca’s Home specializes in stylish furniture with the option for leasing items. Their CEO, Eliot Schwarcz, believes learning and feeding into the statistics generated by a video is wise.
“Putting a video online and then never referencing it again is the wrong way to go about video marketing. Within the viewing and engagement analytics of your video is helpful data that you can use to your advantage. View counts are a fairly obvious metric that can be helpful but there’s more depth available. It’s possible to see how long people viewed the video or how many interacted with an element of it. From here, your future videos should be influenced by the data returned to you from your viewers. When done right, this should further increase awareness and interaction.”
Create for engagement
Business videos can serve a variety of purposes but at the end of the day they share a common goal: to convince the viewer to participate. Looria is a platform that collects product reviews and prices from across the internet for the world’s most popular products. Their Co-founder, Tavis Lochhead, proposes this approach.
“Getting your video in front of people is only half the battle. The latter half takes place within the video viewing experience. Your video should be created with the intention of inviting or enticing the viewer to engage with the video in whatever way it is offering. If someone watches your video and they enjoy it, but there’s no way for them to engage, it’s almost as if they never saw the video in the first place as there was no followup action. Do and show all you can on screen to make people want to engage with you.”
Understand your audience
Anish Patel is the founder of Tinto Amorio, a brand offering natural wines and spritzes for mindful enjoyment. He cautions others against throwing videos online without knowing who it is being uploaded for.
“The number one reason large movie studios are so successful is because they have an understanding of who their intended audience is and what they like. Movies are built around this information specifically. The same can and should be done in video marketing. If you’re aware of who is already interacting with your company and who your desired audience is, you can design content around the traits and characteristics of these people. Ideally, this will yield more sales as more people get involved because they’re viewing content made with them in mind.”
The right technology
Azuna specializes in products used for removing odors from the air. Their director of marketing, Phillip Montalvo, considers the items responsible for the physical filming and creation of a video are hugely impactful and should be given special attention.
“Video production has been around long enough where even the untrained eye can spot mistakes or lapses in quality. When these issues are apparent, people are far less likely to be interested in what’s being shown to them. Even if they are somewhat interested, there’s likely to be a lower opinion held of your company stemming from a poor video. For this reason, you must use high-quality cameras, microphones, lighting and more in order to pass the eye test of the consumer.”
Video marketing is a true beast that is incredibly difficult to tame due to its ever-evolving nature. However, it is an endeavor worth chasing as the benefits of a well put together strategy can greatly influence a company’s bottom line. In order to achieve this, a plan is necessary. This is summed up by producer and actor Will Keenan, “It’s not what you upload, it’s the strategy with which you upload.”
